After leading the Zips back to the NCAA’s Round of 16 for the fifth consecutive season, four members of The University of Akron men’s soccer program earned All-American recognition from the National Soccer Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Friday.
Seniors Chad Barson and Scott Caldwell each secured a spot on the 11-man First Team. It is the second straight year Caldwell, the 2012 MAC Player of the Year and Hermann Trophy semifinalist, has earned All-American honors from the NSCAA after garnering Third Team status a year ago.
Fellow senior David Meves, who became the NCAA’s all-time leader for shutouts (54) and minutes played (8,608) this fall, picked up Second team honors while sophomore Wil Trapp was named to the Third Team.
The Zips’ four honorees are the most recorded in a single season in program history. In all, it is the fifth straight year Akron has landed multiple players on the esteemed list, upping its total to 14 NSCAA All-American honors in the past seven seasons alone.
Caldwell paced the Zips attack with 28 points, coming on a career-high nine goals – including three game-winners – and 10 assists in 2012. The native of Braintree, Mass., was also one of 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award.
As the veteran leader on the Zips’ vaunted back line, Barson started all but two games last fall and directed a unit that posted the second-best goals-against-average in the country (0.35) while limiting opponents to one or fewer goal in all but one contest. Meanwhile, Meves turned in perhaps his best season in an Akron uniform, recording 16 shutouts – including eight in a row from Sept. 14 to Oct. 16 – and finishing second in the nation with a saves percentage of .869.
Trapp, who was the No. 1-ranked freshman in the country according to Top Drawer Soccer a year ago, started all 22 games at holding midfield for the Zips. The Ohio native finished with one goal and three assists while playing a critical role in the Akron attack.
As a team, the Zips finished the 2012 campaign with a record of 18-1-3 and swept the MAC’s regular season and tournament championships. UA entered the postseason as the nation’s consensus No. 1 team in the country and advanced to the Third Round of the NCAA Tournament where it was defeated in a penalty kick shootout by Creighton.
